A Throughput Analysis at the MAC Layer of Mobile WiMAX

Abstract

For Mobile WiMAX, data rate and throughput figures are often presented in literature. However, the used calculation methods and the influence of the packet size on the data rate are often unclear. Therefore, we develop a new method in order to obtain more precise data rate figures at the MAC (Medium Access Control) layer. In this paper the common physical data rate and MAC data rate calculation method are first examined. Next, the new MAC data rate calculation method is presented. They are applied to the official set of Mobile WiMAX parameters. Our method is able to differentiate for different packet sizes and provides a prediction of the MAC layer throughput.